“Silence!” Barrett shouted, and quiet immediately settled over the room.

This is suicide! Knox snapped at me. The sun will be up soon. You’re weakened.

I’ll be fine.

“Just you and me,” I said to Barrett. “Beat me. Kill me. And Savannah will be free of my presence for as long as the naturi walk the earth.”

“And if I were to lose?” Barrett countered.

I smiled broadly at him, exposing my fangs. “I’ll think of something. The key is that no one interferes on either side no matter what happens. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

Barrett had barely gotten the word out before he lunged at me. His fist went immediately for my heart, aiming to end the contest as quickly as possible. I dodged the blow and delivered one of my own to the left side of his rib cage, breaking two ribs. He hissed in pain but didn’t let it slow him down. He twisted, punching me in the jaw hard enough to snap my head around. Taking advantage of my momentary confusion, he came down on the side of my left knee. I howled in pain as I crumpled to the floor.

For the first time, fear beat within me. I was too slow, too weak, and I had severely underestimated Barrett and his need to have me dead. However, the pain quickly overwhelmed the fear that had briefly blossomed, waking up the monster that squatted behind my soul. Where I had been calm before, a new blood lust swelled within my chest, lighting my lavender eyes.

Barrett punched at my face again, but I caught his fist this time. Tightening my grip, I fractured at least two of his bones while pushing to my feet and forcing him back to the far wall that lined the dance floor. I kept most of my weight balanced on my right leg as my left knee slowly healed. Hobbled as I was, I stepped away and waited for him to come at me again.

The lycanthrope pushed off the wall and came at me with the amazing speed of his people, surging across the open space in a blur. With my wounded knee, there was no moving out of the way. I blocked a succession of blows aimed at my face, stomach, kidney, and ribs. Nothing got through, causing his frustration to grow.

Sweat beaded on his forehead and his eyes began to glow with a copperish light. He was losing what little control he had. Soon he would be forced to shift, and I’d easily have him. But I didn’t want it to go down that way. I would be forced to kill him then, and I knew that his pack needed his leadership.

Unfortunately, I was beginning to lose my own battle with the monster inside of me. It growled and spit as it clawed its way up my chest, and was now wrapped around what passed for a heart within my chest. It wanted Barrett’s blood and it was the only way I could satisfy it.

I knocked him away from me again, sending him back across the room to the far wall. This time he paused long enough to break a leg off of one of the tables that encircled the dance floor. He finally had a weapon he could use against me—a wooden stake.

A smile once again graced my lips as I waved for him to attack. If he was going to up the ante that way, then I had no problem taking his blood. He was not looking to just beat me. He obviously wanted me dead.

Barrett came back swinging. I easily slipped beneath his blows, which were aimed to take my head off. I was tempted to set the piece of wood on fire but resisted. I promised myself that I would keep this a fair fight, and the use of my unnatural ability would tip the scales too much in my favor. He deserved a fair fight.

Around me, I could feel the night waning. I was growing weaker. It was less than two hours until the sun finally set. We would all need to reach sanctuary soon or be at the mercy of the lycanthropes, whom I no longer trusted to let us be. My people needed to be safe, and I knew only I could give them that safety.

With a low growl, I approached Barrett, slowly backing him toward the wall. He swung the stake at me, trying to knock me unconscious. I raised my left arm as he aimed a particularly hard blow. The hunk of wood shattered in his hand, sending shards flying across the room. He took the opening, plunging the remaining piece of wood in his hand for my heart. But at the last second I caught it with my right hand, halting it before it could puncture my skin. With a quick twist, I was suddenly standing behind him. The piece of wood was now pressed to his chest just over his heart. We both held onto the wood, struggling for control.

He was strong and he was fast, but I was centuries older than him. I would always be faster and stronger. It would have taken little effort to overpower him at that moment and plunge the stake into his chest.

“Would you like to know what it feels like to be staked?” I whispered in his ear. His only response was to growl at me and struggle for control of the stake of wood. With a dark chuckle, I grabbed a handful of his hair with my free hand and jerked his head back. The blood lust was now in control. I sank my fangs into his throat, bringing a scream from his lips. His blood poured down my throat, filling me with a new strength while I stole his away.

Around us I could feel the lycanthropes closing ranks, preparing to rush me. I had their leader in a death grip. I could easily drain him to the point of death and they knew it. A ring of fire sprang up around us, keeping both the nightwalkers and the lycanthropes at bay. Unfortunately, the fire set off the fire sprinkler systems, sending down a thick wall of water. But the fire never went out completely as I drank from Barrett. No one moved, becoming statues in the downpour.

The water helped to clear my head, and I released Barrett when his grip on the stake finally grew limp and his hand fell harmlessly back to his side. He dropped to his knees before me, slowly shaking his head as he attempted to clear the fog and remain conscious. I doused the flames, but the water continued to fall, drenching all of the nightclub’s occupants.

“This fight is over. I could have killed him, but chose to spare him,” I proclaimed. “Everyone leave, except you.” I pointed to Barrett’s remaining brother, Cooper. “You stay and help your brother. We have business to discuss.”

I watched as everyone slowly filed out of the nightclub. The bartender was the last to leave as he paused long enough to turn off the sprinkler system. There was only Cooper, Barrett, Knox, and myself left. Time was running out for the night, but I needed to know that things were settled between Barrett and me before I continued. There were still other ways that the shifter could betray me and my kind.

Cooper put Barrett’s arm over his shoulders and helped his brother walk into the back room, where he settled in him one of the few chairs. Barrett blinked a couple times until his eyes finally focused on Kevin. A low wheeze escaped the nightwalker and I saw him make a fist with his left hand. He was struggling to hold onto his soul, but it was a battle he couldn’t win.

“Is he from the park?” Barrett asked.

“Yes,” I replied, coming to stand near Kevin’s head. I wished I could ease his pain, I wished I could end his life now so he would no longer be washed in this agony, tortured with the knowledge that the end was hovering so close. But I couldn’t. He deserved these last seconds of his life—we all needed every second we could get.

“I won’t feel guilty over him when I still have to bury my brother,” Barrett said, clenching his teeth as he looked up at me.

“I’m not asking you to. I wanted you to see that you’re not the only one with a body count.”

“And you’re the only one that can end this.” Barrett tried to push to his feet but immediately wobbled and sat back down as he struggled to remain conscious. “You’re the one killing both nightwalkers and lycans.”